Tuesday, December 05, 2006

What Would JD Drew?

Before somebody tells me that Drew has these great stats, allow me to further piss you off:

If we wanted robots at every position who had the best stats, we'd go root for the Yankees. However, Theo, if you're gonna do that, at least get the very best, and not a guy who's only had more than 73 RBI in a season twice. Maybe Ortiz and Manny in the lineup before him will help. I'm excited for what he can be at his best, but I'm not excited for what he can be at his middle of the roadiest. Couple that with the whole "doggin' it" mentality, and we may have a problem.

I promise you, though, I'll watch him play daily before I truly accuse him of not trying.

3. See my last line. But, in all honesty, it's pretty well known that the guy doesn't give a shit. I hope he will once he gets here. And you can clearly see a difference between a guy who gets dirty and a guy who doesn't, and I don't just mean the hat.

"But, in all honesty, it's pretty well known that the guy doesn't give a shit."

Again, what is your evidence of this? And isn't that exactly what a lot of clowns in the Boston media have said about Manny for the last 6 years? Isn't it 'well known' that Manny quit on the Sox last September? After all, Gerry Callahan just said so yesterday in the Herald. I just don't think it's at all fair to Drew to throw around that label based on what you pick up second-hand.

I wish the Sox could have just re-signed the 2003 version of Trot Nixon for four more years. But that wasn't an option, and I definitely prefer Drew in rf over the 2006 version of Trot.

Look, I said I'd watch him more before I accuse him, I'm just sayin', on the ESPN story about him just now, they weren't even talking about that, but they showed a shot of him trotting home with a winning run, with fans going wild behind him, and he's just got this straight face. And that's what he's like all the time. And some southern dude called a talk show last weekend on EEI, who watched Drew in college at FSU, saying how he had all this potential, but just wouldn't put in the work. It's like what C's dad said in A Bronx Tale: "There's nothing more terriblejobby than wasted talent."

I will watch the guy daily and see what I think. We have a good lineup. We should keep Manny instead of taking out that key piece.

"Gerry Callahan is a turd. His whole "Manny hates you because you love the Sox" article was absolutely ridiculous."

Yes, he is. And yes, it was. But that was really my point...after listening to the Gerry Callahans of this world take cheap shots at Manny for so many years, I want to be careful not to fall into the same easy trap of just swallowing that stuff as truth when it's written about players in other places...like what was said about Drew in LA.

I commented on the "Manny hates you" article at Joy of Sox. I basically said that Callahan should watch Manny for a game from the left field seats. What other player spends that much time interacting with the fans? And that's during the game. He's a Manny of the people.

a shot of him trotting home with a winning run, with fans going wild behind him, and he's just got this straight face. And that's what he's like all the time.

Who cares?

Another player could do that -- like Bill Mueller -- and everyone says he's a professional. Just puts his head down and plays the game. Great guy.

And many Yankee fans felt the same way about Bernie Williams for years and years -- even through his best years -- wasn't a leader, was quiet, didn't get all fired up on the field.

It was beyond stupid -- you want the guy producing runs or do you want him throwing shit around the dugout like O'Neill?

...I think you got that backwards, Jere. RBIs stopped being a good way to evaluate players in the 1800s. Like batting average. They say something, but other things say it better. Don't go all Joe Morgan on us, now.

I care. I don't want robots. Mueller wasn't a robot. He also didn't cost 70 million bucks, and wasn't replacing one of our beloved dudes. I don't want to tell a player what he should act like, but some guys don't give a crap, and that's not gonna fly in Boston. My whole point is that he's this type of player, but he could make up for it by being awesome, and maybe in the fantasy leagues where VORP79 and MACH3's win all the money, he's done great, but in reality, he's not the superstar that he could've been. And now we've got him for a lot of money and a lot of years, when we could've just kept Nixon.

I think I've discovered a big difference between pre-04 Jere and post-04 Jere: Pre-04 I basically had a sense of optimism about every single move we'd make. Like, "This guy will automatically be awesome! We WILL win." Now I seem to be more critical of a lot of moves.

But, again, I like Lugo when some people say he's absolute mediocrity. So, I don't know.

How do you know that Drew is a robot? Did you actually see the wires coming out of his back? Or did you just hear some guy say that on Baseball Tonight, and assume it has to be true?

"And now we've got him for a lot of money and a lot of years, when we could've just kept Nixon."

You're forgetting that we couldn't have just kept Nixon unless he actually re-signed with the Sox. You're also forgetting that Trot was horrible last year, and is just as injury prone (probably more so) as Drew, and inferior in the field as well. Re-signing Trot would have meant that RF would have been a major weakness for the 2007 Red Sox....he's no more than a 4th outfielder for a good team at this point.

I agree with JoS; JD Drew needs to hire Bill Mueller's publicist to change his image from "Doesn't Care" to "Professional".

Robots? I am not sure what you are trying to say, but it seems to me players can't win. If you have an easy going, quirky personality, they get killed for it (Manny). Now if you are a quiet guy who rather not be outspoken to the media, he is labeled a Robot. in 2004 JD was one of the 10 best hitters in baseball (an argument can be made for top 5). That is his upside. His downside is the injuries, not his robot qualities.

We now have 4 guys that may crack the .400 OBP mark. I'll take that everyday.

Yeah, Lugo did indeed strike his wife that time. He claimed self-defense and she dropped charges. Whatever happened, it's definitely a messed up situation. Drew beats his robot wife, it just never makes the papers because he repairs and rewires her.